14 DAY TRIAL // A forecast published by research firm IDC estimates a substantial growth for the detachable tablet market by 2021 when the whole business is projected to reach shipments of 56.1 million units.
IDC says that, out of all devices, detachable tablets (which are also referred to as 2-in-1s because they come with detachable keyboards) will post the biggest growth, with shipments to increase from 21.4 million in 2016 to no less than 56.1 million, and a boost of market share from 4.9% to 13.4%.
Notebooks, however, will continue to lead the charts with sales of 162.5 million units, up from 156.8 million units last year, and this could guarantee a share of 38.9 percent. PCs, on the other hand, are likely to drop from 103.3 million to 89.8 million units, while their share is likely to decline to 21.5 percent.
Drop in late 2016 due to lack of new models
IDC says that the lack of new models from Apple and Microsoft caused a small decline in late 2016, as the Surface lineup didn’t receive an upgrade. Microsoft is projected to unveil new Surface models this spring or in the fall.
“In the tablet market, slate shipments continued to decline as expected and detachables saw a dramatic decline in the fourth quarter, largely due to the segment's dependence on individual product launch cycles from the likes of Apple and Microsoft. The absence of product refreshes in the quarter led to a year-over-year decline of 26.1% for detachables in Q4 2016 and contributed to a more tempered outlook for the entire tablet market,” IDC says.
The 2-in-1 device market is more or less the creation of Microsoft, as the company pioneered this product category with the Surface RT back in 2012. Despite the criticism, Microsoft continued investments in new Surface models, making it one of its fastest-growing businesses in the last quarters.
Apple itself is investing in 2-in-1 devices as well, and Cupertino sees the iPad Pro as the perfect opportunity to grow in this market, with the company explaining that it doesn’t want to push the MacBook towards this category by adding touchscreens and detachable keyboards in future upgrades.